1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a recording apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a recording apparatus of the type mainly usable for outputting recording information representing a character, an image or the like onto a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, since a so-called note type personal computer has been developed to a level sufficient for practical use, a variety of further development works are positively conducted for providing the note type personal computer having a higher functional capability with smaller dimensions. In addition, since a recording operation can be performed with the note type personal computer by using plural kinds of colored inks owing to the successful development of a colored liquid crystal display, and moreover, each note type personal computer can be produced at a reduced cost, a number of note type personal computers have been heretofore shipped to a commercial market for a short period of time. In the circumstances as mentioned above, many sincere requests have been raised from many users for providing a recording apparatus, i.e., a typical peripheral equipment for the personal computer which assures that a color recording operation can be performed therewith, and moreover, it can be designed and constructed with smaller dimensions at a reduced cost while exhibiting improved handling properties. To sufficiently satisfy these requests, many proposals have been made for providing various kinds of recording apparatus having an ink jet process employed therefor in association with a note type personal computer of the foregoing type.
A conventional recording apparatus is substantially composed of a carriage driving section for reciprocably displacing a carriage having a recording head mounted thereon, a conveying section for conveying a recording medium across the recording apparatus, a controlling section for processing data and information outputted from the personal computer so as to drive the recording head, the carriage driving section and the conveying section for forming characters, images or the like on the recording medium, and a power source for feeding electricity to the recording head, the carriage driving section, the conveying section and the controlling section, and each of the aforementioned sections constituting the conventional recording apparatus is accommodated as a unit in a common casing for the conventional recording apparatus.
However, the carriage driving section, the conveying section, the controlling section and the power source are not always arranged at their optimum positions in the casing. For this reason, the length of each of flexible wiring boards and cables for electrically connecting the carriage driving section, the conveying section and the power source to each other is unavoidably elongated. In addition, a wide useless space is undesirably formed in the casing. Consequently, the whole structure of the conventional recording apparatus is unfavorably enlarged, resulting in the conventional recording apparatus being fabricated at an increased cost. Further, the conventional recording apparatus has a few problems to be solved, and one of the problems to be solved is that the conventional recording apparatus exhibits poor handling properties.
For example, a control board for controlling a recording operation to be performed with the conventional recording apparatus is arranged on the bottom wall of the casing or below the scanning range where the recording head is adapted to reciprocably move. In this case, there arises a malfunction that the length of each of cables for electrically connecting the control board to mechanism sections is elongated. Especially, with respect to the conventional recording apparatus having an ink jet recording system employed therefor, in addition to the aforementioned problems, there is a possibility of ink leaks from the recording head in the course of each recording operation. To cope with the problem that ink leaks in that way, a wall or a similar member is arranged upright in the vicinity of the control board for the purpose of preventing leaked ink from flowing to the control board side. However, it has been confirmed that the upright arrangement of the wall can not completely prevent the leaked ink from flowing to the control board side. For this reason, the arrangement of the control board below the scanning range where the recording head reciprocably moves is one of the problems to be solved with respect to the conventional recording apparatus.